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| Fra Angelico and assistants, Meditation on the Passion, The Man of Sorrows with Instruments of the Passion with the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Thomas Aquinas Italian, c.1441-1442 Florence, Convent of San Marco
In the same manner in which Fra Angelico showed Mary and Saint Dominic meditating on the Mocking of Jesus this picture (worked on mostly by assistants) shows Mary and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Thomas appears to be in the act of preparing to write down his thoughts. The figure of Jesus is surrounded by (from left to right) the sponge on the reed, the lance, a slapping right hand, Judas in the act of betrayal, Peter being challenged by the serving maid, the Cross and inscription, the attack on His blindfolded head, a truncheon, a spitting head and the 30 pieces of silver changing hands.
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“The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore, I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”
Isaiah 50:4-7 (First Reading of the Mass for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s
Passion)
In 2012 I first presented an essay on the image of the Man
of Sorrows (view here), that is (originally) on the image of Jesus Post-Crucifixion, with the
imprint of the nails and the lance, wearing the Crown of Thorns, positioned at
the center of the image, no longer alive but not part of a Pietà image nor an
Entombment image. Such pictures are
devotional images, introduced into western Europe from the Byzantine Empire
during the 13th century, through Venice.
In the Byzantine world this image remained
fairly static. However, in western
Europe it took on many variations or, as I call them, “tropes”1. Among the early tropes is the Man of Sorrows
Surrounded by the Instruments of the Passion.
I have examined the idea and image of the Instruments of the Passion in
a separate essay (here).
This trope on the Man of Sorrows motif is remarkably
consistent in nearly all the images of it that I have found. In the main expression of the trope, Jesus as
the Man of Sorrows is shown half-length, positioned as if emerging from the
sepulcher and surrounded by the instruments of the Passion, some placed on the
ground in front of the sepulcher (in the majority of cases) or draped over it
and some seen as if suspended in the air around Him. In some images Jesus may hold one or two of
the items.
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| Associate of the Bedford Master, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Flemish, c. 1400-1425 London, British Library MS Royal 2 A VIII, fol. 55v |
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| Attributed to the Bedford Master, The Man of Sorrows with Instruments of the Passion From a Book containing works by Christine de Pizan French (Paris), c. 1410-1414 London, British Library MS Harley 4431, fol. 257 |
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| A Master of the Gold Scrolls Group, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Flemish (Bruges), c. 1415-1425 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 76, fol.70v
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| Christ as the Man of Sorrows Single Leaf from a Manuscript Czech, c. 1420 Private Collection |
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| The Man of Sorrows as the Ecce Homo, Holding Instruments of the Passion From a Missal German, c.1430-1440 London, British Library MS Harley 2855, fol. 3v |
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| Follower of Masters of the Gold Scrolls The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Flemish, c. 1440 The Hague, Meermano Museum MS RMMW 10 F 11, fol. 65v |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Dutch, c. 1450-1475 London, British Library MS Harley 2966, fol. 84v |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Flemish, c. 1450-75 London, British Library MS Harley 2985, fol. 140v |
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| Master of Riglos, The Man of Sorrows with Instruments of the Passion Spanish, c. 1435-1460 Oxford, University of Oxford, Campion Hall |
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| Willem Vrelant, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From the Arenberg Hours Flemish (Bruges), c. 1460-1465 Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum MS Ludwig IX 8, fol. 234 |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion English, c. 1465-1470 Chicago, Art Institute |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion Italian (Umbrian), c. 1476-1500 Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Fondation Corboud |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1490-1500 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 14, fol. 213v |
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| Giovanni di Pietro, Called Lo Spagna, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion Italian, c. 1490-1500 St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
The vast majority of images present Jesus in this way, but a
few show Him seated or standing outside of the sepulcher.
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion Showing the Five Wounds From a Cathusian Miscellany English, c. 1425-1475 London, British Library MS Additional 37049, fol. 23 |
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| The Seated Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion Nothern French, c. 1470 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
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| Master of Edward IV, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Dutch (Utrecht), c. 1495-1505 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS G 5, fol. 59v |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Flemish, c. 1500 London, British Library MS King's 9, fol. 231v |
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| Israhel van Meckenem, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From an Album of 12 Prints Dutch, Late 15th Century New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
A further group includes the images of angels, saints or donors who may mourn, or meditate, or pray or appeal directly to the
viewer to participate.
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| Roberto Oderisi, The Man of Sorrows with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist Surrounded by the Instruments of the Passion Italian, c. 1354 Cambridge (MA), Harvard Art Museums
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| Master of Saint Veronica, The Man of Sorrows with the Virgin and St. Catherine Surrounded with the Instruments of the Passion German, c. 1400-1420 Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten |
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| Master of the Brussels Initials and Workshop, The Man of Sorrows with the Virgin Mary and the Instruments of the Passion From the Hours of Charles the Noble, King of Navarre French, c. 1405 Cleveland Museum of Art MS 1964.40, fol. 128 |
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| Bedford Master or His Workshop, The Deposition Surrounded by Angels with the Instruments of the Passion From the Hours of Charlotte of Savoy French (Paris), c. 1415-1430 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 1004, fol. 63v |
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| Master of the Harvard Hannibal, The Man of Sorrows Supported by an Angel and Venerated by a Bishop, with the Instruments of the Passion Single Leaf from a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1420 Private Collection |
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| Masters of the Gold Scrolls, The Man of Sorrows Supported by an Angel, with the Instruments of the Passion From a Prayer Book Flemish, c. 1450 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 130 E 17, fol. 31v |
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| The Man of Sorrows with Angels and the Instruments of the Passion German, c. 1475-1485 London, British Museum |
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| Master of the Oberaltaicher, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion Adored by a Donor German, c. 1515-1520 Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek |
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| The Altarpiece of Boulbon, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion as the Second Person of the Trinity to Whom the Donor is Presented by Saint Agricola of Avignon French, c. 1530 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
In some of these images Jesus gestures toward the wound in
His side, to emphasize the piercing of His heart. This image will eventually lead to the
devotion to the Sacred Heart (see here).
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| Meister Francke, The Man of Sorrows Supported by an Angel with Angels Bearing the Instruments of the Passion German, c. 1420 Leipzig, Museum der Bildenden Künste |
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| Jean le Tavernier and Follower, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Meditation de la Passion Flemish, c. 1450-1460 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 2, fol. 221r |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion Flemish, c. 1450-1500 Barnard Castle, County Durham (UK), Bowes Museum |
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| Master of the Dutuit Mount of Olives, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion German, c. 1455-1470 London, British Museum |
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| Willem Vrelant, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From the Hours of Catherine of Aragon Flemish, c. 1460 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 7, fol. 173v |
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| The Man of Sorrows Supported by Angels and Surrounded by the Instruments of the Passion From a Book of Hours Flemish, c. 1465-1475 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 93, fol.136v |
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| The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion From a Breviary French (Toulouse), c. 1485-1495 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 463, fol.54r
This image is a little unusual because of the very prominent position given to the dice, which are usually not so pointedly
featured.
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| Goswijn van der Weyden, The Triptych of Abbot Antonius Tsgooten Flemish, 1507 Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten |
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| Workshop of Albrecht Bouts, The Man of Sorrows with the Instruments of the Passion Dutch, c. 1530 Budapest, Szepmusveszeti Muzeum |
All images of the Man of Sorrows are meant to be devotional
images, for the contemplation of the sacrifice of Calvary and the price of salvation. This trope represents a further
intensification of the meditation on the sacrifice of the Cross as we are
reminded of the torture that occurred before the nailing to the Cross.
© M.
Duffy, 2018. Additional material added, 2024.
- Here “trope” is used in the original sense of “a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the Mass in the Middle Ages”. Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trope. Accessed 23 Mar. 2018.
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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